Timeless
by Lighrael
Summary: After a strange dream one night, Dawn's once normal life is turned upside down as she is stolen from her world and put into the world of shinobi, where she discovers her true origins and her destiny. RATED T for language and mild violence.
1. Chapter 1

**WHOO! My first Fanfiction in a really long time. This is my first Naruto one, so I'll try my best.**

**This first chapter is sort of the introduction, and the story might seem to start out a little slow and things might be a little confusing for the first couple of chapters, but hopefully, you'll understand what is all going on.**

**ENJOY!**

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><p><em>One moment she had been laying nestled in the warm covers of her bed and the next she was suddenly standing in the center of a clearing. Her room had been small, and even if she was surrounded by trees in this dream, there was a sense of great space that was almost overwhelming. She wasn't quite sure where she was, but it was like she had been there many times before. There was a since of vague familiarity in the strange ghostly wood that she suddenly found herself in. The trees were completely bleached of color, their ivory hue and smooth bark making them poke out of the black ground like old bones. Maybe they were bones, if it wasn't for the leaves that sprouted at their branch tips, luminous teardrop shapes that glowed and almost hummed with their own hidden energy. They flickered like candlelight as a cool wind sighed through the forest. There wasn't much vegetation other than the trees to be stirred by the breeze really, and the strange black ground was bare except for pale silver-green moss, creating a molted effect. It was also quiet, very quiet - nothing but the wind and the trees and little streams filled with golden water that crisscrossed though the place like a spider's web to create a hushed murmur.<em>

_It might have been pretty, serene in an eerie sort of way, but at the moment it was just unnerving. The girl, standing there in the middle of the clearing in her nightclothes and studying the woods suspiciously, did not like it there. As her light golden, almost white, eyes swept coldly over the trees and the trees beyond those, an odd feeling swept up her back, making the hair along her neck and arms stand on end. She was being watched._

_She'd had plenty of dreams before, but for some reason this one felt different from all the others. Even though it was so messed up and contorted from what reality really was, it actually felt more real than the other ones had._

_If she knew where her hidden observer was, she might feel a little more at ease and decide to explore the place before she woke up - but she didn't need a zombie lumbering out from behind a tree or something all of a sudden, or a psychopath with an axe or chainsaw randomly appearing. She hated those sort of dreams. Who didn't? Sighing, she rubbed her arms absentmindedly as she watched and watched for something, anything, to suddenly appear. She knew it was there, and whatever it was probably knew that she knew and was just biding its time until she dropped her guard. _

_Behind her, clear. In front of her, clear. To the left, clear. To the right, clear. Up? She glanced upwards at the pitch black sky that only had a dark purple moon shedding light that didn't really illuminate anything. Clear. Really, it was dark in the woods. The only thing that she could make out was the radiant golden streams and trees because of their glowing leaves and their stark-whiteness. The ground and the sky was black and so was everything else it seemed. _

"_Come out, come out where ever you are, you sneaky __little creeper__…" She muttered under her breath, becoming irritated. She was about to just give up and whatever wanted to jump at her with her back turned could go right ahead and do that, when __**Snap! **__Somewhere in front of her in the dark gloom, something large moved not so quietly through the woods. Even though just a few seconds ago she had been wanting whatever it was to show up, her back went ramrod straight and her heart was suddenly pounding in her ears and the dream went from random eerie forest theme to ominous nightmare._

_She backed slowly away from the sound instinctively and for a moment there, she thought she saw something bright like a light bulb flicker on and off between a couple of trees. __**Snap! **__There it was again, closer this time, and the girl's golden hues could just make out a black shape solidifying from the shadows and stalking forward on four, long legs. Fast, like running towards her. That was all she needed to start running herself. _

_Her bare feet was cushioned on the moss that swirled around the ground, but still, they made sound - loudly echoing slaps that were completely ridiculous considering that she was running for her dream-life and didn't need her pursuer to know which direction she was heading. Though, she guessed it didn't really matter. There was virtually no cover and the trees were spaced widely apart. After a few moments, she heard the steady paw steps of the mystery predator behind her and threw a glance over her shoulder and then let out a scream._

Dawn's eyes flew open abruptly as her breath caught in her throat, the image of the huge canine right there still flashing behind her eyelids every time she blinked. She wasn't in a forest with a freak wolf chasing her. She was in her room, safe. She was safe. Cold sweat dampened her sheets that were tangled around her and she wiped her hand across her brow, the world spinning and her heart still racing almost feverishly, pounding in her chest and in her ears like a hammer. The only thing louder seemed to be her breathing.

It had been a dream. She knew it was a dream before that _thing _had started chasing her - so why did she feel so scared? Her eyes darted around the dark room, the shadows cast by her desk and chair and even her bed seeming darker than usual, more ominous. The closet door was shut, the hallway door shut, her window shut. Nothing got in here while she had been sleeping. She still felt it though; someone was watching her.

On a sudden whim, she crawled out of her bed and tiptoed over to the window, pulling the curtain aside a little so that she could look at the moonlight-bleached street below. She regretted it as soon as she did. Across the street from the apartment building, just outside of a lamp post's circle of light, was two tall figures in the shadows. From the incline of their heads, it looked like they were looking up at her. Dawn jerked back and closed the blinds, pressing herself against the wall, fear shooting up her spine like ice. What in the hell was going on?

Taking deep breaths, she peaked again, just to keep sure she saw what she saw. Both streets were empty, save for a couple of cars that drove past.

With a very confused face, she opened the blinds all the way, suspiciously studying the nightscape. She DID see people there. Didn't she? After a few moments of looking out the window, she reluctantly got up and went back to bed, deciding that the freak dream she had was making her paranoid. It was in the middle of the night anyways - she was just hallucinating and everything would be fine in the morning.

Right?

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><p><strong>So, what did you all think?<strong>

**Reviews PLEASE! I really want to know how I'm doing and what you all think of the story. Plus, if you do review, it just might inspire me to update the next chapter faster!**

**~ Lighrael 3**


	2. Chapter 2

**D:**

**Gah! So I have this feeling that I'm not too good at the reliable, updating-frequently author. I'm so sorry if anyone might have been waiting for this new chapter! I feel really bad! I meant to update around the New Year, but I never seemed to get around to it! Its been a while, but I hope you all enjoy this, and I'll try to update A LOT faster in the future!**

Sitting in a room with just about nothing to do was obviously boring. Sitting in a classroom with a window with the world peaking temptingly in while she couldn't take the bait was just pure torture. She tried telling that to Mr. Vander, her English 2 teacher, but he just shot back that so was trying to teach students when they weren't in class. Apparently, we were solely responsible for our education now-a-days. And learning to tell time properly. It wasn't her fault though…not directly anyways. After than freak nightmare, she didn't hear her alarm clock go off. It wouldn't have been a problem if her mother had been home, but she had went down south to a funeral for her aunt. Dawn hadn't wanted to go. Not really. As fun as trying to comfort a whole bunch of teary-eyed relatives that she hadn't seen in years and spend half a week in a place she didn't know and in a bed she wasn't used to, she'd had to pass. Sleep hadn't been coming very easily for her lately, and she didn't think going to a funeral would help her nightmares.

It was a weird thing. Those nightmares. And it wasn't just those that were bugging her. As cheerful and bright it was outside right now, she almost felt relieved to be in the classroom. She fidgeted with her house keys that hung around her neck on a chain, moved around in her desk as the soft ticking of the clock seemed to grow a bit louder. She glanced out the window, where the parking lot was completely empty but one single car in the teacher's reserved parking. Dawn twisted around in her seat, "Hey, Mr. Vander?" He looked up sharply, hazel eyes narrowed in concentration, just about to stamp a big C + on someone's paper and waited as she glanced at the clock, then outside, before turning back around to face him. "Can I please, please, please leave now? I _PROMISE _that I won't be late for another class!" She eyed him and the door hopefully as he took a few agonizing seconds to debate whether or not he should let her go. He stretched, scratched his head, stamped something on a student's paper and put it aside, glanced at his clock, and finally nodded solemnly, "Sure, go ahead. _Hey _- wait!" Dawn stopped mid-stride, almost halfway out the door already, "Be. On. Time! And go to bed early tonight!" He sighed and waved her off, and listened to her rapid footsteps echo down the hall.

The truth was, Dawn felt like she was being watched. Every time she went outside her home or school or sat by an open window, the hair on the back of her neck would start standing on end, and she had the feeling that it was very important to look over her shoulder every other twenty seconds. Outside in the empty parking lot, with Mr. Vander's little car by the school and a lot of wide open space behind her and in front of her - it was unnerving. She didn't use to be so paranoid, and she knew the paranoia came with her weird dreams. Her little town was surrounded by woods, and usually, dark or light, she didn't mind going through them to get home, but as she set out on her conventional path with her backpack hitched over one shoulder, she felt a sinking feeling.

She could see - it wasn't even sunset yet - but as her sneakered feet beat down the path to their own rhythm, and the little sleepy sounds of the town fell away and she was left with the murmur of the forest, she felt that creeping feeling. She threw a glance over her shoulder, her pale golden-silver hair cascading down her shoulders like sunlight and her silvery hazel eyes flashing wearily at the maze of swaying green around her. She shivered, even though it wasn't really all that cold, and the wind seemed to whisper conspiratorial around her, and she felt suddenly that they were gossiping about some secret that had her in it, but she wasn't allowed to know. Her feet moved across the ground a little faster, and she vowed solemnly that the next time her mom was going out of town, there was no way that she would refuse to go too.

_Oh yeah, GREAT idea, Dawn. Way to go. We'll just run on home and call Mom and explain to her that her fifteen-year-old isn't really old enough to spend a couple of days home alone. Yeah, great idea - Scaredy cat. _She wasn't exactly who the other being was that made up the _WE _part, but as long as she didn't feel alone, the forest didn't seem as scary. Approaching the back of the apartment complex from her little forest trail, she quickly found her way to their apartment and went inside, the lock clicking with a satisfying click as she turned the key.

She went to her bedroom and to the window, peaked out of the curtained window, remembering last night, but saw nothing. Sighing, she sat down on the bed and kicked off her shoes and then quietly padded back into the kitchen. _So, Mom, what exactly are we eating for food tonight? Lasagna, spaghetti? _She was a big fan of Italian food, and looked in the fridge for leftovers, all the while, thinking to herself that she was safe.

She wasn't quite sure when she had fallen asleep on the couch, but the lion roaring loudly on some Animal Planet show stirred her awake, her blinking confusedly at the golden feline being mobbed by a fiercer group of lionesses and the commentator explaining how female lions were usually the muscle behind the pride's male, and that it was usually they who chased away the rival males. Or… Something along those lines. She stopped paying attention to the show as she realized she was snuggled up to a bowl of chicken fettuccini that had long went cold, and had rolled on top of her half-eaten garlic bread.

She sat up immediately, blushing and glad no one had seen her, and pealed off the rest of the bread and brushed off the crumbs and sat the bowl on the counter in the kitchen. She eyed the smashed bread as she held it over the garbage can, and then shrugging, bit off a chunk and threw the rest away. The clock on microwave said 12: 27 P.M. and she yawned, a small smile playing on her lips as she thought about that sudden wave of fatigue that hit her.

She was so silly sometimes, worrying like that. She was fine. She was safe. Nothing could get her here. It was a _freakin' _apartment complex. If any psycho was planning on kidnapping her, they better learn how to fly or move like a ninja, because the door was locked, she was about three stories up, and she had a elderly neighbor who had overly sensitive ears and complained about her slamming doors and stomping around like a buffalo too much. _Though, said elderly neighbor was out of town for a week….._

She frowned suddenly at the thought, almost crouched down, and just to be safe ( because she was just silly and stupid and overly paranoid) she grabbed an A&W Root beer glass bottle, and sat it upside down and balanced it on the door handle, like she had seen some guy do on that movie, _the Conspiracy Theory. _She wasn't expecting any visitors, especially at this time at night, and it would make her feel a whole lot better if she was alerted to her possible assailant. Maybe she could sleep with a kitchen knife as well! And then again, maybe that would be a bad idea…

She put the knife down and vowed to wash the stack of dishes in the sink in the morning, because she knew she would in fact make it until then, and went to bed.

It was dark and quiet, and Dawn lay nestled comfortably in her sleep. At the corner of her bed, a creature lifted up its head to look at her quizzically, only its glowing blue eyes like fire standing out from the shadows. It stood, paced the floor, worrying away as its charge slept. _Soon. Too soon. _

They had found their hiding spot, and it was only a matter of time. The girl needed to be moved, right now if the creature could help it. But it knew it couldn't. This had to happen, deep down in its dark essence, it knew. The small scratch at the window the next second did not surprise it, and the shadow figure leapt onto the girl's bed, its large paws not making one impression, and seemed to sink downwards into the shadows that the mound of blankets created.

Dawn blinked rapidly once more, staring out blindly at her bedroom walls, the emotions from another strange dream clouding her mind. She thought she had heard something, but now, she wasn't for sure. It was dark and even a little chilly. She snuggled in closer, closing her eyes tight and hoping for sleep to come to her again. She waited, squirmed some, flipped over her pillow, and then there was the faintest change in the room. She stopped. Had she heard something? The fine hair on the back of her neck was standing on end, and a shiver raced up her back. A floorboard creaked somewhere near the window. Despite her head telling her to act like she didn't notice anything different, she slowly peeked an eye out from her covers and squinted into the darkness. At first, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, and then there was that quiet creak on the floorboard again. Her now wide eyes darted to the right, and there was a tall, dark figure in the corner.

She screamed, jerking away from the stranger, rocketing out of her bed so fast that she yanked her sheets with her. She clawed at the light switch until the light blinked on, and to her horror, the nightmare was still there. What in the world is happening? The stranger regarded her coldly, deep green eyes sharp. Those eyes were almost freakish bright against his dark skin and weird black and red cloak and her eyes unwillingly darted into the hallway. If she could get out the door and into the apartment hallway, she could probably scream really, really loudly for help and the police would come and the freak would go to jail. Or maybe she was just having a really realistic feeling dream. If it was a dream, she should probably go see a counselor or something, because there was something obviously messed up with her psyche. She suddenly darted for the hallway. And then felt a strong hand like a steel trap close around her arm.

**Anyone want to review? Share their thoughts on what they think so far? Like I said a while back - like, half-a-year-ago back - I would appreciate the comments and/or criticism!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hmm, I just realized that I forgot about the disclaimers. Well…**

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. Not any characters or anything. Well, except Dawn that is, and the shadow wolf. Oh, and Mr. Vander from Chapter Two, though that is the last time we will ever probably see that English teacher!**

**And yes, I have updated again. Like I mentioned the last chapter. I feel really bad for not updating for so long. You see, I actually have about sixteen of Timeless's chapters handwritten in a composition notebook ( too much free time at school, I guess), and if I really put my mind to it and I have nothing else distracting me, I can update pretty fast. There you go though, reader! I hope you enjoy this!**

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><p>The hand on her arm yanked her backwards and she went flailing back into the room rather ungracefully. "LET GO, YOU -" She hit the wall hard, and the line of curse words she had in mind were suddenly forgotten as her head slammed into her bookcase and a few books slipped from their spots and clattered down besides her, one hitting her with a hardback edge as it went. If she ever lived through this, she was going to be a strong supporter of paperbacks. Or maybe E-readers. She picked up a book and chucked it has hard as she could at the stranger's face, scrambling up and picking up another, holding it out like a sword, wishing with everything she had that it would turn into a sword. <em>I am so dead.<em>

If it wasn't for the sudden adrenaline, her golden eyes might have burst into tears at the thought, but no way was she going to do that in front of this freak. "What in the hell do you want?" She sounded braver than she felt. "If you don't leave right now, I'll call the police!" The man started forward, narrowing his own green eyes spitefully. She couldn't see anything else about his face other than his eyes. He had some sort of mask on. "I'll call my dog! He's a German Shepherd! W- We saved him from an Animal Shelter! He used to be a fighting dog!" So, she didn't really own any _dog_. She glanced at her shadow that was cast from the window she realized now that was open, then back at the stranger.

"Shut up, and come with me." She jumped at his deep, dark voice, her eyes widening considerably. _What?_

"WHAT?" Dawn's voice came out high, incredulous and she sidled away towards the window, "Are you kidding me? Is this a joke?" She was NOT being kidnapped. Her heart stuttered in her chest, and things went a little blurry around the edges for a moment. A roaring sound, like the rushing tide of the ocean, sweeping in towards the sand, flooded her ears as her abductor started forward again. She moved away quickly, looking towards the window fearfully, wondering if she could really jump through it. That was a long fall.

His hand was grabbing for her arm again when she moved. One moment she was cringing, and then her fight versus flight instinct took over, and at the last moment she pitched forward and slid around him, his hands scraping her back hard as he almost caught her. She darted into the dark hallway and into the living room, heading for the door, lithe footsteps following. She had only lived in this particular house for a few years, but she had everything about it memorized in her head. Even though it was dark, she jumped onto the couch, hopping from the soft cushions and onto the coffee table, trying to outwit her pursuer's longer legs. She felt like a gazelle being chased by a lion. There was bump and a lamp on a side table crashed to the ground as she grabbed hold of the doorknob and unlocked it. **CRASH!** Something hard shattered at her feet, and she jumped back as shards from that bottle she had set on there before she had went to bed scattered across the floor. She tore the door open.

"Where do you think you are going?" Dawn slammed the door in the face of a second stranger and locked it back with a frightened wail and whirled around, darting forward and back into the hallway, barely managing to slip past the first one again. For a second, she swore she saw him throw some sort of black rope at her, and dove for her bedroom, sliding across the floor and to the window. She didn't hesitate as she scrambled out. "Get back here!"

She turned, looked back into the room where he was running to the window. She jumped.

For a few moments, it was like the world stood still, and she could see herself falling through the air. Her light blonde hair streamed behind her, her arms gracefully poised at her side, light golden eyes almost aglow. She was wearing a pair of sweats rolled up to her calves, and didn't even have a shirt on, just her bra. She had been too lazy. She didn't know she was going to be attacked after she had fell asleep. Behind her, the man was jumping out of the window, too. More like launching himself actually. There was a cold intent in his green eyes, a wild look in her own golden ones. She glanced over her shoulder, saw him following her, saw the weird black rope again. And then she realized that he wasn't holding the rope. It was coming _out of him. Out of him. Out of him. Out of him. She was going to die._

She hit the ground hard, on the balls of her feet, and she pitched forward into a roll that absorbed some of the impact, like she was Black Ops or something. She just kept thinking though - _She was going to die. _It could have been a very grim thought, and maybe to a point, it was, but… She would rather die than be held hostage or raped or whatever else. She raced forward, across the street and into the neighboring ally, where she had first spotted the two the night before. Something cold suddenly wrapped itself around her ankle and she went skittering across the gritty ground, arms pin wheeling and knocking down a few trashcans. She landed awkwardly on a lid and her side, and before she could pick herself up, someone grabbed her by the hair and did it for her.

"HEEEELLLPPPPPPPPPPPP!" She screamed as loud as she could, right into the man's ear, and all he did was smile like some sadistic madman. It was the second one, with weird purplish eyes and slicked back silver hair. She kicked him hard in the shin and he wrapped long fingers around her neck threateningly. "Hidan!" They both turned to see the first one stalk into the ally, glaring at Hidan and yanking Dawn from his grasp roughly. "We aren't to kill her."

"I know that!" Hidan snarled, eyeing the girl, "Though she would make a worthy sacrifice!" Her golden hues widened, "Are you two apart of some cult?'

"I'm not." The first one narrowed his eyes at his silver-haired partner and then turned his attention back to her. He grabbed a hold of her arms, and turned them over. The underside of her left arm was bare, but on her right one, there sat a tattoo she had since she could remember, two black columns that were slightly curved inward to each other, made up of some unknown language. Hidan watched carefully as his partner studied the tattoo intently for a couple of moments, before nodding to himself. "Turn around." At this point, she was very tired, and she did as she was told, trembling, eyes stinging from pain and humiliation. Hidan let out a low whistle, and then suddenly started laughing. It was so loud and unexpected that Dawn jumped and the first man cringed.

"Damn, look at that seal! We got her, Kakuza!"

"Shut up, Hidan! You are starting to give me a headache!"

Dawn whirled around, "What? You _found _me? Why have you been looking for me? I haven't done anything -"

Suddenly, a shadow was thrown across the group, and there was a low, long growl. She turned, and there at the mouth of the ally, was the beast from her dreams - stiff-legged, head low, whole body bristling, and eyes like blue fire burning into them. That freak wolf. Relief fluttered briefly through her as her captors' attentions were adverted from her.

"What the hell is that?" Hidan asked. As an answer, the wolf suddenly shot forward with a snarl, long legs flying across the ground, closing the gap between them with alarming speed. Black rope sprang from Kakuza's arms, and Hidan suddenly held a massive three-bladed scythe that looked like it belonged in a horror movie, poised to swing it. She didn't wait to see what was to happen next. She ran right by the wolf, past the wolf, and was out on the sidewalk and running again. There was a flash of light behind her, and then a great **SCREEE!** that reminded her of the sound that lasers made, and then a **BOOM! **that almost rocked her off her feet. She looked behind her to see smoke spilling from the ally. Three figures darted out, the shadow wolf and Hidan and his partner. The creature was smoking at the mouth, flickering madly before it just blinked out, gone. _Shit._

"Help! _SOMEBODY_!' She cried again, desperately wondering why nobody was answering her. She knew it was in the middle of the night, but this was absolutely ridiculous! What sort of neighborhood did she live in anyways? Darting into another ally as they closed in, she suddenly thought of her mom. Her poor mom, who would never know what had become of her. There was a chain-link fence separating the ally from another one, and she threw herself at it, managing to climb all the way to the top before a hand closed around her ankle.

She looked down to see a grinning Hidan, who now had a large gash on his neck that was charred black. He tugged on her foot, and when she didn't let go of the chains, he started to twist it. Dawn bit her lip as pain started to shoot up her leg, and finally, as she thought her bones might snap, she let go. He caught her, sort of, and when she turned to look at him, he back-handed her hard.

She didn't feel anything for a second, was just stunned, but then her jaw erupted in pain. Tears pooled up from her eyes and she tried to turn away so the bastard wouldn't see her cry. It didn't work. Before Hidan could do anything else, Kakuza reached out a hand and gripped her shoulder, "Enough with this running."

"What do you guys want?" She sobbed, shaking, feebly pulling away, "Money? I don't have any!"

"As wonderful as that would be, no. We are here to take you to our leader. He has something that he wishes to… discuss with you."

What the hell was this? E.T.? Her whole body was shaking, and she didn't think she could run or walk anymore. Her bare feet were a bloody mess, her ankle hurt, and multiple bruises were starting to form. It was in the middle of the night. She jumped out of a freaking window. She was exhausted. With a sinking feeling, she knew she couldn't refuse, even if she wanted to. "I-" She choked on the words, "I-I'll go with you then." She was such a coward.

"Wise choice." Hidan sneered with a mean smirk.

"Can…. Can I go and get some different clothes on, back at my place?" She suddenly blurted, uneasily crossing her arms over her chest and wishing that Hidan would stop staring. Kakuza looked at her for a moment, and she grew even more uncomfortable, and then he shook his head. "No, we have wasted enough time here as it is. Hidan, give her your cloak."

"Giver her your own damn cloak!" Hidan yelled, jumping backwards. The two stared at each other challengingly for a few seconds, and then, "Hidan…?"

"Yeah, you little bastard?"

"GIVE her the cloak!"

"Great Jashin! Fine!" Hidan turned to me, suddenly smiling broadly, and pulled the black and red cloak slowly over his head. He was shirtless underneath, chest muscular and defined, riddled with various scars. He through the cloak at her, "_Enjoy _the view while it lasts, sweet-heart!" Kakuza rolled his green eyes in disgust while heat flashed up her neck to her cheeks. "I would if you'd show it to me - I don't see _anything _good at the moment though." She had the energy to retort at least that. She had a long list of other things she would like to tell him too.

Hidan sneered, purple eyes glinting dangerously, "Well, I guess I'll just have to show you some places then, huh?" He took a few steps forward and then suddenly Kakuza scooped her up. "Stop messing around Hidan, and let's get out of this strange place." She yelled in surprise as he suddenly jumped straight up into the air and landed on the building roof above, Hidan following a few seconds later with an angry screech. And then they were jumping from building to building.

Dawn closed her eyes tight, nauseous, wondering how all of this was even possible, the roofs coming up to meet them, then shrinking as they left it behind. After a while, she opened her eyes cautiously, and found that they were surrounded by trees. How had they got into the forest so fast? Kakuza's arms were wrapped firmly around her, but they weren't as constricting as they had been. They were strong, and warm, a weird relief to her cold and fatigued body. She had her arms around his neck, her head gently laying across his chest. As if she had any other choice to put it. He could probably sense her lack of energy and will to fight anymore. She was just so tired.

She seemed to have drifted off for a while, because she suddenly found them stopped in a clearing. Kakuza sat her down more gently then she would have thought, and she watched curiously as they produced odd-looking knives and cut a few of their fingers. They began to draw an elaborate circle on the mossy ground, the red lines made up of symbols that reminded her of the ones the tattoo on her arm was made up of. When they were finished, there was a large circle with a smaller circle inside it, with lines that spread outwards, resembling a sun with a smaller sun inside of it.

Dawn, despite herself, was curious, and she walked over, intrigued. They cut their hands a second time, this time on their wrists, and blood leaked down their fingers until the inner circle was completely filled in. Hidan turned to her and beckoned her forward into the circle, and though majorly grossed out by stepping in their blood, she entered. The air seemed to shift then, and a cool wind whispered through the clearing, the dark trees nodding their fleshy heads in some sort of approval. "Fill in the rest of it." Kakuza growled. It was obvious that he didn't enjoy doing all of this. Before she could object, Hidan grabbed her wrist and cut it with the knife, and Dawn bit her lip and watched as her blood ran down her hand and fat red droplets plopped down onto the grass.

They both went and stood at either side of her, each grabbing a hand. "What do we do now?"

"You'll see…'

With their free hands, they both did these weird hand signs that reminded her of some sort of sign language, but with each unspoken word they made, their was a clicking sound. Suddenly, the clicking turned into a buzzing sound and the symbols that made up the circle lit up with a black light. She gasped as the ground started shaking and the light grew in intensity until it was blinding. She yelped as there was a shriek, and a great gust of wind. Only Kakuza and Hidan kept her standing as the gale buffeted her.

The last thing she saw before another blinding flash was a shadow dart into the circle from the woods. It had glowing, light blue eyes.

And then there was nothing at all.

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><p><strong>Yep. There it is. Chapter THREE! Review, comment, criticize! Share your thoughts on what you think so far! Please and thanks!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Well! Hello again! Here is the fourth chapter to the Naruto Fanfiction, **_**Timeless**_**! I hope you enjoy this chapter, though it may raise some questions!**

**I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, except for the girl and the wolf!**

Dawn held on for dear life. Right when everything just disappeared, she felt the solid ground fall away. She pitched forward with a shriek, instinctively thinking for a moment that she would just hit more ground, but there was nothing to stop her fall. Hidan and Kakuza fell too, but they didn't scream, even as she clawed at both of their arms. There was a horrible rushing sound, and somewhere in there, she heard a howl. Or it could have been another scream. It was probably her.

It seemed to last forever, spiraling through nothing. It was just darkness and suddenly flashes of color, and then abruptly, they were spit out. She hit a solid surface hard, the breath whooshing out of her lungs, her hand painfully yanked from Kakuza's. Rolling almost head-over-heels down a steep slope, the world spinning nauseously, she saw glimpses of green, brown, and a muddled blue and white sky. That and Hidan. She tried clinging to him, attempting to protect her face with his chest, him with a hand around her waist. She hoped that he was impaled with a tree branch before they stopped.

Crashing though bramble bushes and thicket, racing crazily down the steep incline like runaway logs, they went tumbling over the edge of a bank and fell in the freezing creek below with a splash. She gasped for breath, but the much larger man had rolled on top of her when they had stopped. The water was absolutely freezing. She was about to tell him to get the hell off of her when he started laughing. Just outright, _I won a billion dollars at the lottery, straight-jacketed, _laughing.

"You crazy idiot!" She sputtered, trying to push him off of her before she drowned. He was straddling her, and the water was freezing her ears. "Get off!'

He had scrapes and scratches all over, a vine with wicked-looking thorns stuck to his shoulder, and she probably looked the same. She reached up and tore the vine out, trying to pull the psycho back into reality. His purple eyes focused on her suddenly, and as seemed to digest their situation, he smirked. They were really close, and she gulped, deciding she liked him laughing and oblivious. He picked a stick out of her hair, and she froze, suddenly petrified and thinking that she should have just wished that she should have been the one impaled with a tree branch.

The moment, thankfully, was suddenly over as Kakuza appeared almost out of nowhere and yanked the pervert up by his silver hair. "OW! What the hell?" Hidan protested, tearing himself free and glaring.

"This mission isn't completed yet."

"So?"

"Have some self control!" They both glared at each other in silence before Kakuza helped her up and Hidan huffed indignantly and slicked his hair back, looking around for his reaper weapon. Dawn wheezed as she rung the edges of the cloak out and pulled the open chest securely around her again and closed it. "Are you alright?" She looked up, golden eyes wide, at Kakuza. His arms were crossed and he watched with an annoyed expression as Hidan thrashed around the dense green foliage on the hillside, swearing loudly as he looked for the scythe.

"Is that a trick question or something?" There was an aching pressure in her left ankle, her feet stung, and her whole body in general felt like she had rolled down a hill in the middle of the woods. Oh wait, she DID roll down a hill in the middle of the woods, didn't she! Kakuza's green eyes stared emotionlessly at her glaring gold ones and with her own little huff, she limped out of the creek and onto solid ground. A wave of fatigue swept through her again and she swayed, suddenly battling to stay awake. It hadn't mattered in the end if she had willingly went with them or not. She was being freakin' kidnapped. It didn't matter if her two captors were playing some twisted version of Good Cop, Bad Cop. They were both equally dangerous, and the last thought she had before she went limp and fell to the ground was, _I'm screwed. _

She was surprisingly warm. She had been so cold here lately. Her fingers, her toes. All so cold. She had no need to shiver now. In a few moments, she would get up and go to school, and prove to Mr. Vander that she… That she… What was it that she was going to prove to him again? She couldn't seem to remember. She pulled the sheets closer to her and snuggled down in her bed some more. Maybe if she slept a little longer, she would remember what it was she had to do.

It was really quiet. No faint sound of cars passing by on the street below, no heater slowly humming through the house. It was just deep, empty silence. Her bedroom never seemed to feel so open and big. Dreams of forests with glowing leaves and golden streams and big, purple moons that seemed bright, but didn't really cast any real light floated around in her mind. There had been that wolf in her dream too, but he wasn't all predator, _KILL KILL KILL freak wolf. _He was just _That Wolf_ - glowing, light blue eyes, dark, cool fur, a mischievous smile bordering on sadistic. Hers.

She shifted slightly as another sadistic smile came to mind, and then a face was forming around it. Purple eyes, silver hair… And then there was this great big three-bladed scythe in her face. The girl's light golden hues suddenly snapped open and she jumped, finally remembering.

_Hidan._

_Kakuza._

_Being abducted._

This was not her room. This was not her bed. She was in a medium-sized, windowless room. In the gloom, she couldn't make out any furniture, only the bed she was laying on and a single door at the opposite wall. _Impossible_. It was suppose to have been a nightmare! A nightmare! She was suppose to wake up and get dressed and go to school and prove to Mr. Vander that she could… That she… What was it that she was going to prove to him again? She still couldn't remember that, but the last crazy events that had happened to her she recalled just fine. Not knowing what she was suppose to prove to Mr. Vander disturbed her above anything else at this point for some reason. Why couldn't she remember something so simple? She let out a noise that was caught in between a frustrated sigh and a wail - not the most pleasant nor elegant of sounds - and rolled off the bed. As her feet hit the floor, her left ankle screamed and protest and she winced, as just about every other part of her body. Her jaw was stiff, and she had a feeling there was a blossoming bruise on the side where Hidan backhanded her. Hell, for all she knew, she was _completely_ black and blue. It felt like it.

For a moment, she just assessed her surroundings, as little as there was to take in. The room was very dark, but not dark enough to where she was completely blind. The small flickering crack from under the door was the source of illumination. No windows. She knocked on the walls, and they sounded pretty solid. The air was also quite musty, and the whole place just had a sense of… Emptiness. Her raspy, barely controlled breathing echoed harshly back at her and she gulped, turning back to the bed. Suddenly though, she saw her shadow, a faint outline on the opposite wall made by the light from under the door. There was her humanoid shape, and then there was the silhouette of a wolf.

Startled, she looked down to her side, and her golden hues were met with blue ones. Light blue blazing like fire, like a thousand distant stars set in a night sky. She froze, breath caught in her throat. The creature had been so quiet that she hadn't even known he was standing next to her. His large canine head shook and his slender muzzle parted in a yawn, flashing teeth like obsidian daggers. Seeing her shocked expression, he wolf sank fluidly to its flickering haunches and its coal lips curled upwards in a bemused grin.

She let out the breath, her earlier dreams flickering through her mind, and with that wolf here, with _her_ here, she suddenly understood the meaning of them.

"Damn it! You little bastard!" She cursed, and the creature just widened its smile. "You could have tried to warn me a little better!" Its ears flickered in a meaning that translated like a shrug: _I tried._

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><p><em>She looked up at her mother, light golden eyes shining and impossibly wide, "Hey, Mommy…" She drawled mischievously, tugging insistently on her mother's robe as she got ready for work. Her mother was so pretty! And she was kind too! She'd understand! She'd keep Dawn's secret! "What is it, Dawn? Mommy has to get ready for work." A wide smile appeared non-the-less and after finishing putting eyeliner on her dark green eyes, she picked up the four-year-old girl and sat her on her lap, tickling her softly on the tummy, "Now! What could possibly be so important now, hmm? Have you been getting into trouble hon?"<em>

_Dawn giggled, "Me? Naaaahhhh! I just made a friend! Come see! Come see!" She hopped down from her mother's lap and grabbed onto her hand, tugging her out of the perfumey smelling bathroom, into the hallway, and to her room littered with stuffed animals and dolls, smiling excitedly and giggling. _Mommy is going to love my new friend!

"_Look, look! Doesn't he have pretty blue eyes?" She pointed onto her messy bed. Her mother smiled and walked over, picking up a Beanie Baby cat that was on its back, staring vacantly off into space with fake blue eyes, "Oh, yes, he does! These eyes are almost as pretty as yours hon!"_

"_Silly, Mommy, I mean the doggie!"_

_Dawn's mother looked on the bed for the doggie, but saw nothing other than a rumpled blue quilt and scattered pillows. "I don't see any doggie…" She turned back to her daughter with a rueful shrug, and then the obvious answer occurred to her, "OH! I see! You met another imaginary friend!" Her daughter always made up amusing characters to talk to. She was so creative!_

_Dawn giggled at her mother's silliness, "Noooo! Look behind you, Mommy! He's sitting on the bed and smiling at you!"_

_Her mother turned once again, slightly puzzled now at her daughter's insistency. She didn't see any doggie still. Walking over to the bed, she sat down, and Dawn followed her, jumping onto the mattress with a spring in her step and a bright look in her eyes, "See him yet?"_

"_Doggie, doggie!" The women whistled, patting her lap like she was calling for a dog._

"_You don't need to call him, Mommy, he's right besides you!"_

"_Oh, is he now?"_

"_Yep! He's in your face, with big blue eyes like the sky and long black fur! He's smiling and his teeth are showing!"_

"_What does his teeth look like then?"_

"_They are black too!"_

"_How big is this doggie?" Dawn's mother smiled nervously, starting to feel uneasy._

"_Oh, well, I guess he isn't a doggie, not really! He's more like a wolfie!" She held up her hand to her mother's face, "He's so tall that he can look you in the eye. Oh, oh! He talks to me when I sleep too!"_

_Dawn's mother frowned, a rather unsettled visual image forming in her mind, "What does he say?"_

"_He says that you aren't my real mommy, and that he will always be watching over me first! Silly, right?" Her liquid golden eyes watched her mother's face go pale and she just jumped onto her lap, "He also says that I have a wolf inside of me! And that it was a whole lot of tails and a paw so big that it could crush a town if it wanted to! He tells a lot of cool stories!"_

"_Dawn, I want you to tell your new friend to go away _now_." She hadn't yet explained to her daughter that she had been adopted. How could her daughter possibly know that she wasn't her real mother? This was too farfetched. _

"_Mommy!" Dawn whined, "He's my friend, he can't just leave!"_

"_He can leave. He _will _leave. He isn't real, sweetheart. I need to finish getting ready." Gruffly, she rose and sat her daughter down on the bed and without another word, walked out of the room. Dawn watched her mother go, and turned to the big wolf, "Mommy says you need to leave…." She sniffed and sank her little fingers into the wolf's shadowy fur that felt like feathers while the canine just smiled. He was always smiling. _

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><p><strong>My, my - She talks to him like she might actually know this grinning beast of the shadows… Reviewcriticize, and just tell me all what you are thinking so far! Please and thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5? Yes, here it is. I think I'm starting to do alright when it comes to updating regularly. I tried to make this chapter a little longer, and plan on making the rest of the chapters about this length or a little more, so I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor am I Masashi Kishimoto. I do own Dawn and the Shadow Wolf though.**

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><p>The girl looked at the wolf with a frown, sitting there on the stiff bed in the bare room. The wolf flopped soundlessly down at the foot of the bed, stretching out his stilt-like legs and giving a silent yawn that was only made noticeable by it vibrating through the room. She didn't really know what to do now. What could she possibly do? She was just regular girl, wasn't she? And these circumstances were hardly regular. It was all completely insane. <em>Unreal<em>. She glanced at the wolf. _It was unnatural. _

The silence was unnerving her. All of this was unnerving her. What _were they waiting for in this stupid little room? _She rose and walked over to the archaic looking brass doorknob and tried turning it, and to her surprise, it wasn't locked. Glancing at the wolf who now stood besides her, she nodded, and peaked into the hallway. A cool draft buffeted her face immediately. It was dark, save for a single torch flickering sleepily across from her. Looking down the hall to her left, she saw, far down the way, another flickering torch, barely visible. It was the same to her right. Listening hard, all she heard was her own breathing and the faint moan as the cold draft passed like a ghost down the dusty stone passageway. She shivered, suddenly reluctant, but the wolf pushed past her and slipped out of the room, and she sighed, knowing that she should follow suit. They started walking.

Her bare feet seemed to echo loudly around them, each little **tap, tap **slightly off from her limp. Each step made a little twinge of pain snap through her left ankle, and she wished the wolf was a little bigger, so that she might be able to ride on him like a horse. Yeah, that would be great. Too bad, great things - eventful things- seemed to want to avoid her at the moment. If they hadn't been avoiding her, she wouldn't be here.

The wolf kept his head low, tail down, as if he might be stalking some unseen prey. For all she knew, he might as well have been. They had chose the passageway to the left, and every once in a while, after they had been walking in pitch darkness for a while, another lonesome torch would suddenly appear on the wall up ahead, lighting the way. For the most part, the way was straight, but sometimes it would suddenly branch off to three or four different hallways or turn very sharply. Then they would pick the wrong passage and somehow get turned around.

It was all very perplexing.

After running into a dead end for the fifth time, she let out a frustrated growl, resisting the urge to repeatedly kick the wall that blocked her path. She whirled back around and started back the way she came, the shadow wolf a few paces in front of her. After a few moments, he abruptly stopped, and she almost stepped on his tail. Freezing too, she listened, and every so faintly, there was a **tak, tak **sound. Footsteps. Fear seized her instantly, but she felt better with the wolf by her -the wolf suddenly turned and dove into the shadows, disappearing from view - _side…_

Looking around wildly as a figure came to view at the entrance to the dead end, she saw that she had nowhere to go. She backed away as the person approached, cursing the cowardly wolf in her mind. "You slept long enough, don't you think? For a while, Hidan thought you were dead." The stranger had damp black hair that hung down almost to his shoulder, effectively framing his sullen face. His eyes were a sharp gray color, but for a moment, she thought they flared red. He wore a cloak that looked exactly like Kakuzu's and Hidan's. Was this their leader?

"How long was I out for?" She whispered hoarsely, glancing around for some sort of way out. Her flight/fight thinking was kicking in again. She hated being cornered. She probably looked like a trapped fox or something, glancing around like she was. She felt like a trapped animal, that was for sure. A trapped animal who didn't know if they were being sent to the slaughter or not.

"Three days." She cringed at that answer. _Three whole days…_ How the time was even tracked in such a unworldly place was beyond her. She had to get out of here. "A- are you…?" She couldn't even get the words out, but he seemed to understand and his eyes narrowed perceptively.

"No, I am not the one who ordered your presence here." His voice was cold, but she could sense a vague curiosity coming from his emotionless form. What could he possibly find interesting about her? _Ugh._ Being interesting wasn't a good thing to be to people like these, she decided, and sighed. And then an idea occurred to her. It was a long shot, but… why not?

"Is Kakuza here?"

He stared blankly at her for a moment. And then, "Kakuz_u_, you mean?'

"Yes, Hidan's partner? I need to talk to him." She almost added a please, but then thought better of it. There was a sinking feeling that was starting to form in her stomach as a realization dawned on her. Her room had been unlocked. For a while, she had just assumed that they forgot to lock it, but she now realized it hadn't needed to be locked. They, whoever _they_ were, were confident that she wasn't going to escape anytime soon. It was probably true.

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><p>"This is Kakuzu's current dwelling." And with that, the stranger turned and went back down the hall, becoming engulfed in shadows after a few moments. She turned and looked at the wooden door. It had a cobweb hanging off of the side of it and she gulped, listening for any sign of life beyond. She thought she heard a sound like someone setting down a glass and scooting back a chair and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Looking around for that cowardly wolf one more time, and seeing a dark shape stir in her shadow, she quickly rapped on the door with a white knuckle.<p>

…

She knocked again, closing her eyes in her extreme discomfort, starting to feel sick to her stomach, "Um, Kakuzu… Are you there?" The other guy hadn't actually said whether he was actually there or not, and she was starting to think he wasn't.

The door suddenly flew open though, and she jumped back as a dark presence bared down on her. "What do you want?"

"I - I… Um…"

"Spit it out, girl."

"_Whataboutyourleader_?""

He stared at her blankly and wasn't wearing his cloak anymore. The cloak had been very distracting, and she saw that he wore a black face mask with a white hood thing, and then a black tank top that presented his intimidating, toned muscles. Her eyes zeroed in on stitches that almost looked as if they were holding his arms together. She shook her head and looked back up at him, _impossible._ This was insane.

With an agitated growl, he slammed the door in her face. Snapping back to and remembering why she had even knocked on the door in the first place, she knocked on the door again, feeling rude for her unabashed staring.

"Go away."

She let out a little squeak at the coldness in his voice, not fully understanding why he was being so cold. He had protected her from Hidan before, right? He was the only person here that she could imagine she could get answers from. Hating her idiocy and these hallways and cursing all of those times she daydreamed about being whisked off by strangers in the middle of the night, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Kakuzu?" He was sitting at a chair that barely seemed to contain his broad build, carefully counting a very large mountain of unfamiliar money that sat in precarious piles on a wooden table. The door clicked softly closed as she entered hesitantly. He turned to glare at her with those odd green eyes, and for a moment, she was frozen. "What are you doing in here? I told you to leave me alone."

"But, you -"

"I. Am. Busy." He enunciated each word like she was a child, and all of a sudden, she was very angry. Her fists clenched. Somewhere, there was the slow clicking of a clock, and her body began to feel weird. _It's not your fault you are here, _a low growl told her, and she nodded. The clock seemed to falter for a moment, and then it came back, steady and loud. She was pretty sure that she was the only one who heard it.

"_You_ said that your leader wanted to talk to me about something though." There was a tone to her voice, some underlying timbre that was alien to her. In any other circumstance, she would have been surprised. She wasn't the type to be noticeably brave, not really. She was like a lone wolf. She was quick to fight back, but if the odds were against her, she was even quicker to turn tail and run. And at the moment, she was pretty sure the odds were against her - but she was tired and hurt and fed up with being pushed around by these strangers. "That's why I'm here, right? That's what you said!"

"Did I say that?" He sneered, voice dripping with sarcasm, and it send another odd jolt of anger through her. She clenched her jaw, "Well? Where is he?"

"He's gone at the moment."

"_What?"_

"Girl, are you deaf?"

"Gone? _He_ wanted to talk to me! _ME!_ " She took a few steps forward, trembling, black flashing across her vision for a moment. She had never felt so angry in her whole entire life. _They _come after her in the middle of the freaking night, _they _force her to go with them. _They _hurt her. She didn't ask for any of this, and when she finally did decide to stop fighting them and go with them and do what they wanted, she gets this. "Well, why don't you just go get him then! I didn't come here for the hell of it!'

She froze, slapping a hand over her big mouth. A shocked silence rang through her head and she watching, terrified, as Kakuzu stood abruptly from his chair, the stacks of money wobbling as one of his knees bumped the table. He was suddenly right in front of her, and she hastily scrambled backwards until her backside hit the closed door. "What did you just say to me?" His deep voice was very quite, and she would struck down on the spot if a look could kill. What in the heck had gotten into her?

One large hand clamped down tightly onto her shoulder, anchoring her into place, and she grabbed his arm with both of hers and tried to pry it away as he began to squeeze. She paled as those black threads that seemed to keep his arms together untwined themselves and snaked over to probe curiously at her mouth. She shook her head, trying to get them to stop, and they suddenly shot out and wrapped around her neck. He pulled back his mask to reveal a stitched mouth. "You better watch that pretty little mouth of yours. If you don't be careful, it might end up like mine, or worse." She gulped, eyes itching, threatening to start to tear up. Her throat felt dry all of a sudden and she reflexively licked her lips.

"S- Sorry, I didn't mean to." She whispered, looking away from his burning gaze and staring numbly at the wall. They stayed like that for a moment, and she waited for him to do something, but he just glared at her and then let her go, stepping away and crossing his arms, the black thread retreating. His green gaze was still rather scathing, but he turned away and sat back down at his table, and she turned and opened up the door and peered down the hallway. It gaped at her like a yawning black mouth, and she looked back to the man who now sat back at the table. It looked a little to small for him, but he didn't complain as he methodically began thumbing through whatever cash it was. She looked back out at the cold hall and with a sigh, closed the door back and sidled down the wall to sit on the floor by it, not really wanting to run around those empty, desolate paths by herself, even though in here it wasn't much better.

As she settled, Kakuzu turned to give her a scowl, but didn't say anything as her gaze darted down and away from where she had been studying him. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared dully at the table legs that had dust around them. The room was warm, probably because there was more than one person in it, and at the other end of the table was a bed. The room was… bland. Everything here was just either sickeningly complex or completely the opposite - with the "sickeningly" still in front of it. She sighed and rested her head gingerly down on her knees, and during some point, she must have drifted off, because the next moment… "HEY! KAKUZU!"

**BAM!**

The door was suddenly swinging open with reckless abandon, so fast that all she could get in was a little "O" formation of her lips before the door hit her so hard in the side that she was thrown sideways and skittered into the adjacent wall, her head that was already feeling rather questionable hitting the stone with an echo. What in the heck?

"What in the hell? Why is she in your damn room?" Hidan strutted in with a devilish grin, surveying the dull accommodations before sneering at her with his purple eyes and kicking her left foot with a chuckle. She cringed and pulled herself up and away, debating whether she should take refuge under the safety of the table, and ended up hastily fluttering to the side only to have him lung forward like a cat and grab a hold of her arm. She flailed around helplessly while Kakuzu exhaled very slowly, as if he was trying very hard to keep a hold on his temper. He didn't seem to be a very patient guy, that much she now knew.

"Do you really have to be so loud, Hidan?" He chided coldly in that deep, rumbling voice of his, eyes flickering to them briefly as his thumbs sorted through his money. He was short fused and rich. How he had been partnered with a rowdy person like Hidan she couldn't possibly imagine. They weren't really… compatible. For a moment, Hidan's face stilled, serious, "It is apart of my religion.' He said solemnly, and then burst into a crazy cackle as she looked up at him, his hand tightening around her arm like an anaconda. Kakuzu shook his head and '_hmphed_', "I swear, I've never met a being as idiotic as you in my whole life. You are a disgrace."

"That's not what your mother said last night!" More crazy laughter, and simultaneously, she and Kakuzu rolled their eyes. "But, no fucking around, what in the hell is this bitch doing in here?" Purple eyes locked on her straining figure and she glared at him, "Should I be somewhere else? Oh, wait - yeah, home in bed!'

"She is here because Pein has yet to arrived from official headquarters." Kakuzu cut off whatever Hidan was about to retaliate with and before they could do anything, she kicked Hidan in the shin as hard as she could with her good foot and darted out of his reach, on the other side of the table. Hidan let out a string of profanities and started after her, but as he came to the upon her side of the table, she moved to the other side. The stacks of money wobbled precariously.

"Get back here, you little whore! You are going to pay for that!' He started to the left, and she flitted to the opposite way to stand next to Kakuzu, and she saw that he was becoming more agitated by the second. Before she could use the table to outmaneuver him again, Hidan suddenly lunged across the surface and latched onto her hair, yanking her away and to the side. His arm brushed a stack of bills, and suddenly, just like that, every pile suddenly went toppling over and she found herself caught in a money avalanche.

"DAMN IT ALL!" Kakuzu roared, leaping up, giving them both a murderous look as paper slid everywhere. Somewhere, on a tropical island, there was a volcanic eruption. "Look, you've fucking done it now!' Hidan informed her. Kakuzu wasn't focused on her though. He laughed nervously, "Oops, right Kakuzu? Ha. Ha. My bad." His partner was fuming, eyes absolutely livid, and both gulped. She pried away Hidan's fingers from her golden hair while he was distracted and stepped cautiously away, curious to see what was about to happen. It didn't look very good for the foul-mouthed creep.

"How many times, Hidan, have I told you to watch what you were doing." It wasn't a question, more like a statement, an accusation. Kakuzu took a step forward and Hidan took a step back. The black tendrils that held together Kakuzu's arms shuttered, and Hidan opened his mouth to say something. It looked like Kakuzu was going to punch him.

**SQWAP! **A wet sound. The sound of black tendrils flying into Hidan's chest. It happened in a matter of seconds. The words died away on Hidan's lips and he looked down and cringed. She screamed as deep red blood began seeping down his front. Kakuzu pulled out the tendrils and punched him hard in the face before grabbing him by the shoulders and acting like he was going to throw him down. Hidan didn't hit the floor though. Kakuzu kneed him hard before that could happen, and the silver-haired man went flying into the wall with a groan. She watched, petrified. Speechless.

"You little bastard! You and your damn temper! Sheddin' blood when I don't have a ritual! A big fucking waste you are!" _Impossible. He had to be dead._ Hidan leapt to his feet, blood gushing out of the gaping hole in his chest. He reached behind him and grabbed hold of his horror-movie scythe. This room was too small for a fight, but Kakuzu growled and rushed him, "Waste? Please, Hidan." She blinked, and Kakuzu was behind Hidan and Hidan's scythe hit the fall wall near her with a loud **Shunk**. A moment later, she felt the air stir her hair, and by the time she realized that Hidan had thrown the weapon at Kakuzu, and had missed, Kakuzu had a hold of his head. There was a ripping sound. Like fabric, and blood spattered across the room, hit her in the face. Hidan's body slumped to the floor, more deep red blood gushing out of a ragged hole in between a pair of shoulders. The room started to spin.

Kakuzu held Hidan's head by his silver hair in one hand. _No way._ He looked up at her, but she was already out the door and running down the dark hallway.

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><p><strong>So. Things aren't going how Dawn wants them to. Go figure. She's kidnapped by heartless criminals, and she finds out just how savage they can be! There is something a little different going on, hidden in the background. Can anyone detect any changes in how I wrote this chapter from the others? If you have - Sharp eyes! If not, things will be revealed in the next chapter!<strong>

**Overall thoughts/comments and critiques are all welcome, and obviously encouraged! Hope you all like this chapter! **


	6. Chapter 6

**So, Chapter 6 has finally arrived. Whoo. Sorry readers for the lateness. I guess I just have to face the truth : I procrastinate. Everyone does, yes? Well, I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter, and though you guys still might be left with some questions, I hope it clears up a few little questions on your mind. **

**I don't own Naruto. This is obviously a fan fiction with no other point other than to entertain readers. Enjoy!**

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><p><em>What had happened back there? Madness. They were all completely, utterly insane. This had to be a nightmare.<em>

There was a stifled hiccup and a loud sniff, and she ran her arm over her salty face, hand shaking uncontrollably. In the flickering torchlight, one could see diluted red streaks of Hidan's blood marring the bottom of her cheek and neck. She was covered in it. Her own blood that the creek hadn't washed off, and now Hidan's. She was sick of it. She was sick of all of this. She just wanted to go home.

Where was home though? She didn't know, couldn't remember. Sitting in another dead end, with the shadow wolf by her side, she racked her brain for things she knew about herself. She could do math. She knew how to read. She knew for sure she was an educated individual. Where did she get that knowledge from though? Who taught her? Who took care of her before she was kidnapped? A hazy face floated in the back of her mind, and she closed her reddened eyes to try and concentrate on it. _Light blonde hair. Green eyes? Or were they hazel? _She couldn't recall it. A voice. Telling her to get up and get ready for school. Telling her that she would be back before she knew it. A pang of familiarity. Who was that person and where had she went? Was she telling _her_ that she was going somewhere, or had she been speaking to someone else?

A name. _Dawn._ A jolt raced up her spine, but then it went away and she opened her eyes again. She didn't remember any _Dawn_ either.

The shadow wolf's pelt contrasted darkly where the torchlight hit it, but he didn't cast a shadow. He was a shadow. His light blue eyes were pupil-less, a pair of flames themselves. He blinked at her slowly, and she hoped that he felt guilty for ditching her and hiding. She couldn't be mad at him though. He was the only one on her side, and anyways, she felt a little better to know that he was here, but the people who had kidnapped her didn't. He was her advantage. Her only ally. She didn't want to think of him _just_ as an ally though - that would be mean. Friend. A friend. Her only friend as far as she could remember.

As if on cue, he smirked a sharp grin, inquisitively tilting his head to the side, as if wondering what she was thinking about now. She reached out and ran a damp hand down the back of his head, the fur she left behind trying to follow her fingers like static, tendrils snaking to wrap softly around her fingers. Odd. For a moment, her thoughts flashed back to Kakuzu and Hidan, and she stiffened and removed her hand. The wolf' watched her and just blinked at her reaction and stood up. She followed his lead, and before long, they were making their way down the passageways again. No way were they going back the way they came.

_There has to be a way out of here._

Dread filled her stomach to the brim and she felt queasy, limping down the dark way and away from the torchlight. The hair stuck up on her arms and the hair that fell into a tangled mess from her head was damp with sweat. Hidan's blood and her tears were covering her front and she didn't have her a shirt still. Her left ankle was on fire and just overall, she hurt. Her shadow wolf trotted ahead like he had done earlier, leading the way. In the gloom, she could barely see him, but she felt his presence. She hoped no one else could, or she would be screwed. Oh, wait. Ha. Oops. She was already screwed, huh?

_How big is this place anyways?_

More winding tunnels. A few doors that were locked tight. Seven more flickering torches on the walls. Three more dead ends. One pair of bare feet that pounded a slightly off rhythm as they walked. That sickening rhythm pounded through her head feverishly like a hammer and no amount of silent pleading halted it.

Wait - the rhythm did stop. It froze in mid-beat along with her foot as a figure suddenly materialized out of the gloom and the shadow wolf did another one of his whirl-and-dive moves and disappeared into her shadow. She was really started to dislike that. It wasn't like she needed the support or anything. Maybe he was a worm without a backbone instead of a wolf whose fur seemed to be made of darkness. Wait. He _was_ a wolf made of freaking _shadows._ How did she know he even had a skeleton?

Heart hammering, going up to a whole new, frantic beat, Hidan and Kakuzu flashed in her minds and she shrunk against the wall though it was obvious she had been spotted. The person was a stranger, though she didn't know if she was relieved or not. The future would probably reveal some negative emotions that would send her running away in fear again. She hated this. As far as she knew, everyone in this hell-maze were all apart of the same group who had kidnapped her. Was this one the leader who had finally returned? As if the figure sensed her question, he started forward down the hall, his feet barely making a sound and his black cloak hanging around him like an ominous cloud.

"Are you the leader?" Her voice shook and the movement of her throat was like someone trying to ring out a cloth that was half sand-paper. She fought the urge to run away screaming again, even though she doubted she could actually run anymore. Her balance shifted unsteadily left to right since she didn't have the momentum of walking to hide her fatigue.

"Hm." He stopped a few feet away, just at the edge of a torch's halo of light, "I don't believe I am, though I certainly know a little bit about you, little jinchuuriki." His face was shadowed by an odd-looking hat, but she heard the sound of a soft chuckle. The world stuttered and her jaw clenched. What was up with these freakin' people? Kill her or let her go, it was that easy. Did everyone think just because she was trapped here that she wanted to converse with every psycho criminal who she happened across?

She stared at him, thoroughly mortified, not willing to offer any sort of reply, though she could think of a few thinks she'd suggest he do to himself if they weren't in some dark passageway and she had a stun gun or maybe a high-voltage cattle prod. The silence dragged out awkwardly with her harsh breathing echoing around them.

"I'm Deidara, un," he finally offered, taking off his hat. Deidara's head was covered in long blond hair that looked thicker than her own, and his eyes were a grayish-blue, the same cold glint in them as she had seen in everyone else's. Her heart fell. He was the same as everyone else. "Want to see something?"

The question was revealed rhetorical as he didn't wait for a response and began to dig through a bag that hung at his hip and grabbed up something in his fist. For a second there, the girl thought she had heard a smacking sound, like lips or something, and she looked up at his face. Deidara gave a smirk. She frowned and after a moment, he uncurled his hand to reveal a pale whitish bird sitting on his palm. Her lips pursed, unimpressed at the magic trick.

"Isn't it wonderful?" The criminal looked at her, almost hopefully, but as he studied her dull expression, he straightened out. "Hm, you don't see it, do you?"

"All I see is a psycho holding a clay bird."

He shook his head, "Poor naïve girl, I am a genius! This clay bird is like no other in the whole entire world. It's a 3-D work of art!" The bird hoped forward, and then jumped into the air, zooming over her head as she ducked hastily, almost surprised. Too many things had happened already to her, so of course, she really wasn't all that shocked - she was already numb. Clay bird versus watching a man get run through by black rope that came out of another man's arm - Hidan and Kakuzu won, hands down.

Deidara's mouth tightened slightly at her non-reaction, and then he was suddenly looking at her smugly once more. "Hmph! That wasn't even the best part! …You know what makes this _true _art?" The bird landed on her shoulder, little holes that made up its eyes staring into her. She halfheartedly tried to brush the thing off but it jumped over her hand to sit on her head.

"True art is an -"

"Deidara!"

A plume of smoke exploded behind the rogue, and in the torchlight, a woman appeared. She had blue hair and amber eyes, and what looked like a paper flower in her hair. Also most notable was the look of slight annoyance on her face as she glared at Deidara. "What are you doing? Stop fooling around. It is time for the meeting."

Deidara stifled a roll of his eyes and the bird fluttered off of her head to land in his palm.

The girl jumped as the blue-haired woman turned to her, "Follow me.'

This was the moment she had been waiting for. She was going to meet the leader of this crazy place, tell them that she was of no use whatsoever, and go back home. She would go to sleep and the next morning, all of this was going to be a bad nightmare. She started forward as the woman turned and began to walk briskly up the hall with Deidara close behind, aware that the spot where home sat in her mind was like a black hole, gnawing away at her.

* * *

><p>Her nerves were on end when they finally made it to the double doors that she hadn't seen before. They had went down so many halls and took so many turns she still had no sense of direction, or knew how the mysterious blue-haired woman had got here so easily. The door was notably tall, and the top of it was arched. It was much more authoritive than any other door she had seen thus far, not that she had been seeing a lot of doors to begin with. The little crack under the door flickered with the light of a fire.<p>

The blue-haired woman opened the door and the three stepped into the room. There was a fire pit at the center of the room, snapping and popping silently, and her gaze trailed briefly upward to watch the smoke float upward to a dark hole in the ceiling. Surely the above world wasn't too far away by now. The thought had her almost imagining she could feel a fresh breeze of air that wasn't tainted by dark stone and dirt. As she walked into the room, she had the sudden impulse to keep her head up high, and look everyone in the room in the eye. She wanted to be done with crying and being scared. She was so tired.

As Konan and Deidara moved away to stand in their respective places, she focused on the figure standing directly across from her on the other side of the fire. He had spiky orange hair, pale, slightly peachy skin from the firelight, and thick black piercing all over his face. He studied her with pale, lavender tinted eyes that had darker rings in them. Once she looked into them, she found it hard to look away. If she looked away, she would be silently submitting to him. She didn't want that. She wanted to go home.

"You must be the one who called me then, Pain."

"You will address me as Lord Pain." His voice was colder than the blue-haired woman's and she suppressed a shiver. Her mind went blank suddenly, and she didn't know what to say. The gazes of the people around her started to make the hair on the back of her neck and arms stand up, and panic fluttered up her spine. Blood rushed in her ears.

"Tell me your name."

The room was wanting to tilt back and forth. Her name. What was her name?

She was a deer in oncoming headlights; an innocent child staring down the barrel of a gun as it was aimed at her forehead, the owner of the weapon tensing his finger that curled deftly around the trigger. The small urge to act defiant and strong, to look people in the eyes, was gone now. An overwhelming emptiness radiated from her. She glanced at her shadow and saw a faint shimmer of blue for a second, but she found no answers there.

What was her name? Her throat felt like it was made from stone - she couldn't seem to get it to move at all. She wanted to say something. She thought she knew the answer to the question, felt it at the tip of her tongue, but every time she tried to say what she thought she was suppose to say, she suddenly found a blank spot and instead, sort of gasped like a fish out of water.

What in the world was wrong with her? She looked like an idiot here! If she answered the questions and learned she was just a normal girl, surely they would let her go…

Eyes. They were all staring at her. Malicious glinting things, aware of her every movement, she was some strange specimen they were trying to dissect with their eyes. They were so calculative, harsh. Never before had she been stared at with such distain and morbid curiosity. She felt violated and all they had done was shift back and forth restlessly, wordlessly. Hidan looked as if he'd like to comment, and his cruel sneer cut her like an invisible sword. When her eyes darted over to him, they immediately were drawn to his chest, where earlier, black tendrils had went through, and then to his neck, where she could see some sort of stitching. She felt ill.

"I -I don't know…" She finally managed a feeble whisper and her interrogator's strange lavender eyes narrowed.

"How old are you then?"

She tried to think about her last birthday, her upcoming one. Everyone anticipated their birthdays. She had, hadn't she? "I'm…" Sixteen? "…Seventeen? Eighteen?"

"Which one is it?' His voice was slow, like he was talking to a child. It was infuriating.

"It's…."

"I'll get her to damn-well remember," growled Hidan, taking a step forward. "I'm tired of this shit! We go through the trouble to bring you back here in one piece and you can't even remember your own damn name!"

Before she could move, he had a hold of her hair again, twisting it length up in his fist and almost lifting her off the floor. She stood on her tiptoes, tears forming in her eyes yet again, terror spreading like cold frost through her chest until her lungs were froze and she couldn't breath. She tried to remember. Her eyes clamped themselves tightly shut. She racked her brain for all she knew about herself, but no personal information came up. The spots were her name should have been, people she knew, places she seen - it was all a blank. She couldn't remember anything before Hidan and Kakuzu had showed up. There were voices, scattered images, the ghosts of memories too faint to grasp, all swirling like a tornado inside her. She couldn't piece anything together.

"I don't remember! I don't remember anything! I CAN'T! What have you people done to me? What did I do to deserve this?" She had started yelling, but that last sentence abruptly became a whisper.

What did she do to deserve this?

There was an agitated sigh. "Hidan, you are most definatly _not_ helping. Let her go and let's get to more important business."

There was a grumble and a couple more curse words, and then the hand in her hair let go and she slumped to the floor. She couldn't look into anybody's eyes and instead fixed her glazing over gaze on the dirt floor at her knees that was now slightly peppered with her tears. She wanted this all to end.

"Fine, so you don't know _who_ you are… but do you know _what_ you are?"

That question struck her as completely ridiculous, that even through her despair, she couldn't help but answer immediately. If anything, she knew _what_ she was. "Of course I do. I'm a human girl who has been kidnapped by psychopathic criminals of some sort or another."

"Hmph. Not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"…As you can see, we are no ordinary people. And if the knowledge we have discovered is accurate, which I am very confident it is, you aren't ordinary either."

Out of all the crap they put her through already, they had the nerve to play more games? She thought this meeting was going to be over shortly and she would go home. "Uh, I believe you are mistaken. You see, as far as I know, I'm your average teenage girl. There is nothing special about me whatsoever. Never has been."

"Oh, really? So you do remember your past after all?"

"Well, no…"

"Then what experiences can you recall that make you so certain you are normal?"

"N-none, but that doesn't…" Her defiant whisper trailed off suddenly. Memories of normal. She was followed around by a wolf made of shadows. That was one thing she could recall, though everything else besides that one large detail was too fuzzy. The shadow wolf. She remembered him, but in no way had she ever thought of him as something normal. Was this man…right? No. It was impossible.

She was starting to feel light-headed again. All of this was getting to be too much. She didn't know what to believe anymore. Black crashed across her vision like the wave of an ocean, and that cursed pounding came back in her head with a new drive. She gritted her teeth a little as anger started make itself known underneath the fear and confusion. Who were they to talk as if they knew her, like they have all the answers? Like they were in control of her?

"Just tell me why I'm here already. I'm getting tired of all these pointless questions."

He was the reason she was here. Him and his slow words and unblinking stare. He had told her to call him Lord Pain. A fitting name, because he was behind all of hers right now. He was the reason behind all of it.

Black washed across her vision again, a little longer this time.

"You have a monster inside of you."

* * *

><p>Deidara watched as her face go blank then slowly turn horrified as the boss told her the information everyone else already knew. He could tell she didn't want to believe a single bit of it. The process of it all was getting tedious.<p>

Sasori, who sat hunched besides him, was silent, as was everyone else for now. He glanced at Itachi and saw that his eyes locked on the girl. A surge of hate shot through him at the sight of the raven-haired Uchiha and for a second, he imagined the Leaf-rogue's limbs being blown off his body and being scattered across the room. Hmm. What a pretty sight that would be.

"No! You made a mistake! I don't believe you…"

Deidara turned his attention back to the jinchuuriki, who now appeared to have finally lost control. Her eyes were blazing, looking off into the distance, some place beyond the room. She probably didn't even realize it. His blue gaze swept around the room curiously as the air seemed to grow thinner and the fire flickered at the center of the room. Out of the corner of his vision, there was a flash of red as Itachi activated that damned Sharingan of his.

The boss seemed unfazed, intent on verbally pounding her mind and the stirring beast into submission. He wasn't going to give her an option. "You are to serve the Akatsuki from now on until I say otherwise."

Her eyes had stopped glowing as they focused on the Akatsuki leader, narrowing into angry slits, "I don't think so."

For an instant, he suddenly had a flashback of his first meeting with the organization, and before he knew it, literally, in the blink of an eye, she had whipped around and was half-way out the door. The sudden speed and energy caught him off-guard momentarily, and he could only watch as Itachi leapt into the action, and in a couple of seconds, had her pinned down on the dirt floor face-first. Deidara's jaw clenched, shaking his head, wondering why he hadn't been the one to move. Damn Itachi.

Pain's eyes blazed now too and he walked around the fire to stare her down. "I will tell you one more time. You are to serve the Akatsuki."

"Go to hell!'

That got a few chuckles from Hidan and Kisame and Deidara's eyes narrowed.

"Fine, if you won't submit and listen to the voice of reason, I have other ways to get you to listen. You are young and this is new to you, but I am not going to tolerate this any longer. There are things to be arranged and things to get done. Itachi, go persuade her." The boss turned away with a grunt and walked across the room and was out another door, Konan at his heels. It was obvious that the meeting was over.

The blond shinobi, with everyone else, watched as Itachi dragged the girl out of the room and down the hall, with her kicking and screaming like an animal the whole time. He thought he saw the shadow wolf that had been following her around earlier trailing behind them. It threw a poisonous glare behind its shoulder as if Deidara had offended it. The terrorist shrugged to himself: there was nothing he could have done, even if he had wanted to. The wolf just ought to be gracious that Deidara did not give him away, though why he didn't was a mystery to him.

* * *

><p><strong>So, to say the least. Some mysterious things are happening. To answer the question I asked in the last chapter, the little thing that cha<strong>**nged was I stopped using her name. I didn't want to include it in the story if she doesn't remember it. So, you've read to this point, and all's left is to review with your comments/thoughts and await the next chapter!**

**Thanks for reading, it makes me smile inside when you guys do~**


	7. Chapter 7

**So! After an extremely long amount of time, here is the 7****th**** chapter to Timeless! I finally decided to be a decent person and update, though I still feel guilty for waiting so long to do so. I hope you all enjoy! Uh, oh yeah. I don't own Naruto, this is merely a humble fan fiction written by a very lazy person.**

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><p>Itachi shoved her hard into a dark room abruptly, letting go of her hair. Unbalanced from the dark and panic that raced through her, she stumbled forward and ran into something hard that was probably another wall. No flickering torches, no windows, just darkness. From what she could sense, it was a very small room, maybe some sort of storage closet - though these characters didn't seem the sort to hoard mops and cleaning supplies.<p>

Picking herself up off the ground, using whatever had stopped her stumbling to help her, she whirled and the only thing she saw that was in the direction of the door was a pair of blood red eyes. A cold jolt when through her, and suddenly, she felt like she had made a big mistake, her stomach churning and bile rising to the back of her throat. Itachi was between her and the door. Pein's words echoed in her ears and her voice was as thin and taunt as a piece of thread, "What did Lord Pein mean by 'persuade' me?"

"I think you know what he meant." There was the rustling of his cloak and then quiet… and then there was a slithering sound. "I will stop if you will join the Akatsuki."

"What? What are… you…" The words died on her lips as she tried to see through the impossible black that surrounded her. Something flickered in the darkness, a barely comprehensible shape. "What is it?" She asked, but Itachi didn't reply. In fact, she couldn't even see his eyes anymore.

The dark seemed to spread out before her, until she felt only empty space - such a vast emptiness that she felt like she had suddenly moved out of the little room and was somewhere else entirely. No walls. Nothing, except that slithering sound. The girl moved a few steps backwards and the sound grew louder so she froze once more. Ears straining, she couldn't tell how far in front of her it was, until she could suddenly see it, a lone visible thing creeping out from under folds of nothing. Its eyes were unblinking, fierce orange surrounding slitted pupils. A forced tongue flicked out of scaly brown lips, tasting the air just in front of her face. Its one eye alone was larger than her shaking fist, its head as thick as a basketball.

A giant snake.

"It- Itachi," She whispered, paralyzed. Couldn't move. Couldn't breath.

The snake hissed suddenly, a sound that seemed to cut into her very heart, and then it lunged at her head, slamming into her with a force she imagined could belong to a train, sending her sprawling as it dug fangs bigger than her fingers into her shoulder. A torn scream ripped through the air. Jerking backwards and pulling her with it, the monster began coiling its long body around her. It was heavy, pure muscle, and she tried finally to get it off her, scratching and biting, but with each breath, it seemed to tighten its hold.

Her own muscles screamed in protest - her skeleton, her whole being. She didn't want to die. When she thought she would simply explode from the pressure, the thing was suddenly gone, melted right off of her, and she found herself falling through the air. The change was so sudden that her body tried to bring in air and gasp at the same time, and she choked violently, bit her tongue, twisting through the air, unable to scream again. As she fell, the wind became visible almost, roaring, screeching past her, so fast that it began cutting her like knives.

Before she knew it, solid grounded rushed up to meet her, equipped with great needles that stuck up straight from the ground. **SNAAP. **A solid, staccato sound - the combined sound that she thought was her chest caving, muscles ripping, spine snapping. It was the sound of her death. It was pain so horrible that it almost didn't feel like any pain at all. It was a jolt of numbness, like darkness, that filled her whole body instead of her vision. She tried to speak, ask anyone for help, but blood choked her and she found no room in her lungs to draw another breath. Tears somehow managed to spill down the side of her face, or maybe that was blood too. All she could see now was red eyes and distantly heard a voice asking her a cold question. "This will stop if you choose to join. Yes or no?"

And then she noticed two lights.

Blue orbs floated towards her, glowing brightly, but casting a light like from the moon. The girl knew those lights from somewhere. It took her a moment to think hazily that they weren't actually lights, but eyes, and when she realized that, the pain faded away. Blue started to overcome red, and then she was suddenly back in the closet, on her back with the shadow wolf on top of her. Its eyes burned into her and she felt strength flowing into her, sanity. Her head felt light but in her blood, like earlier, anger boiled greater than her confusion and fear. Maybe it wasn't anger. She was slipping away, being replaced. A light started to grow in the room. It was a foreign presence, and for a millisecond before it took a firm hold over her, she wondered who it was.

The light exploded and the forest from her dream with its glowing trees flashed momentarily in her brain, a rushing forward through a picture, like a movie, and then before she knew it, she had jumped up and was leaping past Itachi. Running down the corridors at a speed that shouldn't have been possible. Everything was a blur and then she was suddenly in the room with the window. Out of the window. In a nocturnal forest.

The waterfall of power came rushing through her faster, more concentrated, and then she was nowhere at all.

* * *

><p>The girl tried to take in a breath, but there was no air. There was nothing except that rushing feeling and a soaring sound. She was hit with the familiarity of it, and she had a feeling that she was teleporting like before with Hidan and Kakuzu, but it was different somehow. After a few minutes, her other senses picked up things - a flash of sight or smell.<p>

Bracing herself as she sensed the end of it, she was spit out back into the physical world, tumbling forward awkwardly after almost landing on her feet. The sudden scene change was overwhelming, and it took her a moment to regain her balance and adjust. She was in a forest again, though not the one from her dream or the one she had a small glimpse of during her spell. Fresh air assaulted here, almost making her tear up with how nice it felt in her throat. A cool wind stirred the vegetation lightly and the smell of leaves and dirt made her head spin. Far above, stars winked at her, congratulating her on her miracle accomplishment, a million glowing specks framing a glowing crescent moon.

The girl looked at the shadow wolf as it pulled itself from her shadow, and she saw its eyes were churning with happiness. She felt happy too. They had escaped, after all.

Above all though, she was tired, and her brain didn't want to go over what had happened. She didn't have that surge of mysterious energy anymore, but she could feel it, rushing through her body. Lord Pein had told her what it was - the essence of a monster. He said she had a power inside her that she had no right to have, and he'd do her a favor by taking it away permanently. They wanted to take the creature out of her and she didn't know what to believe at all. They were all crazy, obviously, but then, here she was, petting a wolf made of shadows and having teleported away from super-human criminals only moments before. She couldn't remember who she was or where she had came from.

And her head hurt like crazy. Everything hurt.

Kneeling on a wide path that seemed to be a road of some sort, she buried her fingers into the clingy shadows that made up the wolf's fur. Its luminous eyes were half moons with contentment, lips curled in a lazy smile that reminded her just how tired she was. Her eyelids suddenly grew heavy and her body weighed a ton, and before she knew it, she had crawled over to the side of the road and stretched out, using the shadow beast as a pillow. Its side was buoyant as a balloon, and she slipped into true unconsciousness as a figure came into view, far up the road and walking towards her.

* * *

><p><em>She didn't know how long she was unconscious until she suddenly found herself walking in that first forest again, shadow wolf by her side. It made a sound here, a soft panting that echoed off the pale trees, ethereal and ghostly. Its eyes reflected the glowing leaves and the stars the glittered in the sky next to a full moon. It was very large here, that moon, twice the size of any she had seen in the waking world. Its dark light had the same effect on this nocturnal world as the sun on the daylight world.<em>

_The forest ended after a while, and they found themselves at the banks of a shallow-looking lake, its surface completely still, interrupted by a lone island in the very middle that held a large mass and a single, leafless tree. It was the monster, laying curled up, seemingly asleep. As she watched though, she saw a muscle in its shoulder twitch and it stirred. Slowly, she turned and then sprinted away, becoming engulfed in a mist that rolled out from the forest._

* * *

><p>The girl stirred, light making the insides of her eyelids seem red, reluctant to move from her comfortable position. Actually, she didn't know if she could or not. Laying still after so long had made her fatigued muscles go stiff, locked maybe, and they were most certainly boycotting any brain signals that demanded them to work. If she moved, she'd probably just feel exhausted again, and besides, what did she had to wake up to? A lonely, abandoned road in the middle of a strange forest. That would be just lovely, right?<p>

Breathing in a deep breath, she felt for a breeze, the air temperature, but for some reason, she felt nothing particularly hot or cold. It was like room temperature for some reason. In fact, she didn't even hear the trees, because if she was outside laying on a random road somewhere in the forest, then of course, there should be the sound of trees. The chirp of birds. Bugs. Rustle of grass. Where was it?

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, wearily, her expectations for a cold stone room somewhere deep under the ground clashing with the reality of an artificial ceiling light above her. Her ears picked up the faint buzzing of electricity running and she went to put her hands over her face, but they were blocked by something soft. A bed sheet. There was a gasp somewhere, and she was so groggy and confused that it took her a moment to realize that she was the one that had made the sound. She sat up suddenly, any sleep paralyses she had suddenly chased away, and staggered out of the bed.

A slight sting on her arm made her glance down and she saw an IV stuck in her. She tore it out with a shaking hand and let it flop to the floor.

Almost, for a fleeting second, she had thought everything had been a terrible nightmare, and she was okay now, only that couldn't have been possible since she wasn't where she thought she ought to be and, she still didn't remember where that was suppose to be exactly. She was still trapped.

And then she saw a person.

He was sitting on a chair opposite the bed against the wall, watching her curiously. Like everyone else she had met Post Memory Loss, he looked strange, foreign - gravity-defying silver hair and a mask over most of his face. Fear shot through her like she had been struck by lightning, a hopelessness that made behind her eyes burn. He was one of them and she had been caught again. They'd make her join them this time probably. She didn't want to die.

"Hello there," the strange man drawling. "It's good to see you awake." He talked slowly, as if he was trying to sooth a frightened animal or a child. He stood up and against herself, the girl shrank away. Deidara had seemed friendly at first too. She wasn't going to play their mind games.

"Stay away from me."

She only saw one of his eyes because of a weird looking headband that was over the other, and the eye she did see looked at her reproachfully. "It's alright, you don't have to be scared anymore. You're safe and its going to be alright."

No, it wasn't. It couldn't possibly be alright. Nothing about this was alright to her.

Light hazel eyes darted around the room and locked on a dresser a few steps away. In a second, she had tore out a shelf and threw it at the guy. He ducked and it hit the wall behind him and landed on the chair he had been sitting at. He put his hands up in probable surrender, but she didn't see it as surrender. He was just trying to find a way to get close to her, then he was going to grab her and try and get her to join.

She had to get out of here. She wasn't going to get caught again, no matter what, because if she did get caught, she didn't know if she would have the strength to say no to them again. The thought made the room rock side to side and bile to rise in her throat. Right before she thought she was going to just fall back down onto the bed, she forced herself to move, to suddenly lunge for the door out of here. The man saw it coming immediately though, and to her dismay, he was blocking the way before she had taken three steps. "Whoa, wait a minute." He reached out a hand and faster than she thought she should have moved, she whirled away.

Tearing another drawer from the dresser, she threw it at the window and she jumped at the sharp crystal sound of shattering glass, and then she was jumping over the bed, bare feet making the glass crunch, fresh air coming to meet her face, almost airborne-

A strong arm wrapped around her waist and tugged her back in, kicking and screaming. Terror and flashes of darkness and flickering torches washed through her mind. Red eyes. "NO! Please, no!" She just couldn't do it. Why couldn't they just understand? Why can't someone else take her place, just this once?

Where was that shadow wolf at? Why wasn't it helping her this time?

One arm was around her waist and the other was around her arms, constricting her movement like that giant snake had. When she breathed in, she thought she felt him tighten his hold some and she began to struggle even more, her feet stomping down on his and kicking him anywhere she could. When this didn't work, she snarled and jerked her head backwards as hard as she could. There was a crack of something and a low hiss of pain, the stranger's and maybe her own as well, but all she felt him do was turn his head away and her limbs grow numb.

"Kakashi?! What is going on here?" A voice suddenly asked from somewhere in the room. It made the arms tense again, as if sensing the girl would start up her struggling once more. She didn't though, and instead, closed her eyes. The voice didn't sound evil. It was female and all she sensed from it was genuine concern.

What if… she was alright? What if this Kakashi person wasn't here to hurt her after all? The frightened girl would like to believe that, but she didn't know what to trust.

"I have the situation under control. The girl is just scared and confused, but I think I almost have her calmed down," Kakashi said. Was that true? Terrors still flashed through her mind, a constant flickering of all of the things she had went though thus far, but what if this wasn't apart of those terrors? What if this was safe ground? There was the sound of footsteps exiting, the female voice saying something about telling someone she was awake, a door closing, and then the arms let her go. There was no backhanding or cursing or harsh remark. She stood there, gazing a little bewildered out the broken window.

A breeze ruffled the girl's unkempt hair as she turned around to look at this "Kakashi" person. When she had first saw him, she had automatically been frightened and hadn't really stopped to properly _see_ him. He didn't have the cloak that the Akatsuki had all been wearing and really, the one eye of his to be seen wasn't nearly as threatening as she had first thought. He looked very cautious and also like he had just woken up, or if he was thinking about sleeping. She watched wide-eyed as a hand moved up to experimentally feel his nose. He winced. "I'm very, very sorry about that, sir." She said, mortified. "I- I thought that you were an… Akatsuki. I didn't want them t-to…"

In an instant, his face grew very alert again and nervousness found its way to her all over again.

"I w-was abducted by them." Gosh. Her voice just wouldn't stop shaking. She felt so cold.

She couldn't really read his face either. He just stared beyond her, lost in thought, before he finally stirred. "We will meet with Lady Tsunade and discuss that later. Right now, you are safe and need to rest. This is the Kohona Hospital."

Oh, of course. The Kohona Hospital. Great. With that information, she knew exactly where she was.

"You haven't by chance seen a really… dark-coated canine running around, have you? It's about…" She held up a hand to her hip. "…this tall, with really long legs and blue eyes?"

He shook his head. "Hm, no, I haven't. That is an peculiar-sounding dog though. If he's yours, I suppose I could…"

As if on cue, the damned beast pulled itself out into the open from the shadow of Kakashi himself. Kakashi jumped and whipped out a knife that looking sickeningly familiar, and the shadow wolf snickered silently and rubbed itself against the girl's leg like a cat, the ghostly tendrils that made up its body wanting to stick to her leg.

"Is that the… canine?"

She shied away from the knife. "He's harmless, I swear!" The image of the shadow wolf growling, hackles raised, eyes blazing suddenly came to mind. "I mean… he protects me. He goes where I go."

Kakashi seemed skeptical as he studied the creature, but he ended up putting the knife-thing away, that one eye never leaving it. "Well, you might want to get some sleep then. I'll stay here and keep watch for you, so you won't have to worry."

The girl nodded and walked back over to the bed and got in, pulling up the cover to her chin and watching as Kakashi sat back down on his chair after brushing off the remains of a dresser shelf. The shadow wolf jumped onto the bed and laid there, half in and out of the shadows cast by the wrinkles and little mountains of the sheets over her legs. Her eyelids automatically grew very heavy. They fluttered as the room started to go fuzzy around the edges, darkness falling across her vision like autumn leaves. Kakashi pulled out an orange book and started reading it, though his eyes peaked over the pages to watch her sigh and fall into a deep sleep.

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><p><strong>My goodness. We went from Itachi to Kakashi all within one chapter. Yay. Commentsthoughts, critiques, questions, and all such things are all welcome! Thank you for taking the time to read and hope you all are interested in what will happen with the story from here.**


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